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| william |
 Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:02 am Post subject: Becoming a police officer/detective |
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Forum Ph.D.
Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 905
Location: USA
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So what are the qualifications?
Anyone out there among us working in this field? |
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| +SCIENCEgirl+ |
| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:59 pm Post subject: |
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Forum Freshman
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
Posts: 21
Location: Netherlands
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[edit] oh, I'm sorry, It is when I already posted this I saw you meant police officer/detective. my fault. I'll keep it here anyway [/edit]
I think it depends on what country you live in.
I have no idea how things work in the USA, but there are some things I can tell you about how they work in my country 
In the Netherlands we've got only one big institute of forensic science. It is called " the Dutch Forensic Institute" (NFI)
If you would like to become a forensic investigator. you first have to study on a normal university ( higher lab education). If you graduated, then you can start working at the institute. ( I think you can too if you did this course at HBO level ( one level under university)). To become a forensic investigator (doesn't matter what kind of) , you're being educated by the institude itself.
Besides that there is one university where you can study a master in forensic science (university of amsterdam). This course is done in association with the NFI.
I'm not sure, but I think there is also a possibility to first go to the police academy. Then you can move further into the forensic science.
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| goodgod3rd |
| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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Forum Ph.D.
Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 898
Location: Donegal Ireland
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hmmm - well i know in ireland we have a garda reserve. you're not paid, but its a step into the gardaí. Otherwise you can just apply, they look at your life and the like; needless to say if your family have a history of being in the gardaí then your almost a dead cert acceptance. sadly.
Gardaí are our police.
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| Demen Tolden |
| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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Forum Senior
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 387
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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I work with a guy that's been working towards being a police officer for a few years now. I'm not entirely sure what is required, but what he has done is first to sign up for the US Army and try to do well in it, while taking college classes at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State University. I know just a couple weeks ago he was complaining that in order to be a leutenent (I'm not entirly sure about this specific rank.) in Burnsville, which is a suburb of Saint Paul, you needed a master's degree. Next time I talk to him, I'll try to remember to get more specific information.
I guess for myself, I am a little glad that our police need to be well educated, hard working people.
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Emotions are contagious, and passions create room for ignorance. Please treat others with kindness so that we can all understand each other and are not waylaid by needless hostility. |
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| Demen Tolden |
| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:53 am Post subject: |
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Forum Senior
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 387
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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After getting more specific information, I'd like to add a few things. To my knowledge it takes at least an Associates degree in law enforcement to become a police officer, however depending on the area the requirements vary. In Burnsville, the suburb of Saint Paul that I was talking about, to be an officer, which is the entry level rank of a policman around here, a Bachelor's degree is required. The second rank requires a Master's degree, and so on. Besides schooling there are other factors that come into play. The police in the United States are equal opportunity employers. What this means is that minorities are in higher demand than those that are not minorities. In order for the guy I work with to compete with minorities for a job, he served in the US army, which he says puts him in even competition with them. He told me about a test that asks a lot of questions about your background and such and returns a score to you that evaluates your... demand i guess might be a good work... demand to the police force. These two questions "have you ever served in the military," and "are you a minority," are two of them I believe. A verbal interview is also a large percentage of your evaluation.
A few other facts: Minneapolis has around 800 police officers.
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Emotions are contagious, and passions create room for ignorance. Please treat others with kindness so that we can all understand each other and are not waylaid by needless hostility. |
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